Acute Sensitivity of Landslide Rates to Initial Soil Porosity

• DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5491.513
• Publication Date: 2002-07-27T09:47:44Z
• Authors: R. M. Iverson; M. E. Reid; N. R. Iverson; R. G. LaHusen; M. Logan; J. E. Mann; D. L. Brien
• Keywords: Hydrology; Sedimentology; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Some landslides move imperceptibly downslope, whereas others accelerate catastrophically. Experimental triggered by rising pore water pressure moved at sharply contrasting rates due to small differences in initial porosity. Wet sandy soil with porosity of about 0.5 contracted during slope failure, partially liquefied, and accelerated within 1 second speeds over meter per second. The same 0.4 dilated failure slipped episodically averaging 0.002 Repeated slip episodes were induced gradually arrested dilation attendant decline.